The Mindy Project's Ed Weeks on the Benefits of Wearing A Fat Suit

Monday

Oct 28, 2013 at 7:08 PM

When we met the confident, caddish Jeremy in the pilot, he didn't quite fit in withThe Mindy Project's other flawed, quirky characters. Then he got fat and magic happened.All ofasudden, Jeremy became a frazzled, insecure teddy bear we all wanted ...

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When we met the confident, caddish Jeremy in the pilot, he didn't quite fit in withThe Mindy Project's other flawed, quirky characters. Then he got fat and magic happened.

All of a sudden, Jeremy became a frazzled, insecure teddy bear we all wanted to hold and eat Cheetos with. "I have to say it's been a blast," Ed Weeks tells TVGuide.com. "I think him coming back from hiatus fat was a big catalyst for a lot of the changes. It sort of unlocked a way of playing him ... which I think is A. more comedic for me to play and B. I think its probably more relatable to the audience because we all have vulnerabilities and its nice when characters find flaws."

To give Jeremy the look of a sexy body pillow, Weeks decided to skip the Big Macs and go straight for the padded onesie, which, as it turns out, is as comfortable as it is awkward to get into. "Normally I go into Chris Messina's trailer and order him to zip me up, which he's gradually getting used to," Weeks says.

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We can only assume Messina, who plays Danny, must have been a little relieved when he heard Jeremy's days in the fat suit are numbered. After "becoming increasingly exasperated," Jeremy will go to fat camp to lose the weight just in time for Mindy's Christmas episode. Unfortunately, we won't actually see Jeremy doing his best Heavyweights impression at fat camp, but his weight loss will inspire a whole new range of problems for the doctor. While Jeremy struggles to keep food out of his mouth, he'll also be trying to get a few women into his bed. "I think Jeremy probably has had several months without any action from the ladies because he's sort of been fat and he's felt a bit bad about himself," Weeks explains. "I don't think Jeremy's very comfortable in his skin, when he's thin or when he's fat, but certainly when he's fat I think his mojo was down to an all-time low. So now [that] he's thin again, he goes on a bit of a lady bender which is quite fun."

Oddly, for a show centered so much on dating, this will be the first time viewers will get to witness the so-called lady killer at work and Weeks promises fans are in for a treat. "From what I can imagine about Jeremy, I'm sure there's a certain level of cheesiness there," he says. "He probably wears a bit of fake tan and spends too long doing his hair. He's a narcissist. So I'm sure dating Jeremy is a bit like dating a himbo to a degree."

And while Jeremy will just be looking for "easy sex" right now, Weeks hopes we'll get to see Jeremy in a real relationship some day. "I always say this, but I would love to see maybe something to happen between him and Besty (Zoe Jarman). I think that would be really interesting for both characters. Because I think he would give her a bit more of an adult worldview and she would probably make him into a better person," he says.

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Jeremy could definitely use the support of a girlfriend in Tuesday's episode when his father (Alan Dale) comes to visit. "I think Jeremy's always been somewhat of a disappointment for his father," Weeks says. Uninterested in Jeremy's love of moisturizer and eclairs, his dad will find himself bonding more with the frat bro Peter (Adam Pally). "He loves sports all these masculine traits that I think Jeremy's dad really appreciates and probably wanted in a son if he's being honest with himself," Weeks says. "It's really about Jeremy not being quite enough of a man for his father. That's the sort of slightly sad backstory to it. But it's really fun to play because obviously Jeremy realizes he doesn't need the approval of somebody like that and he and Peter bond over it as well, in a weird roundabout kind of way."

The Mindy Project airs at 9:30/8:30c on Fox.

View original The Mindy Project's Ed Weeks on the Benefits of Wearing A Fat Suit at TVGuide.com